


Expressive

by DoomedTemperament



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Crushes, Izuki Shun's Puns, M/M, Post-Canon, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-22 00:52:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7411996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedTemperament/pseuds/DoomedTemperament
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“They’re both third-years, right? Is Mitobe just going to let Koganei graduate without letting him know how he feels?”</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>MitoKoga fic for anon on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expressive

**Author's Note:**

> MitoKoga is a very cute and underappreciated ship. I probably wrote them a little too OOC, but I hope you enjoy anyway.
> 
> Prompt:  
> "I'd like to request a fic, if you're still taking requests, about Mitobe having an obvious crush on Koganei but Koganei is the only one who is too oblivious to see it and he is literally the last person to figure it out."
> 
> Please note that this fic takes place after canon (in other words, the second-years are now third-years, the first-years are now second-years, etc.)

The thing about Mitobe was that he never spoke. Not once, or at least not that anyone in Seirin could remember. At first, those who knew him wondered- _could he even talk? Was he mute? How did anyone understand him?_ But eventually, his quirk went unquestioned. It was easy enough to understand him (well, when it came to things that mattered, anyway) and to some, it was just another loveable part of his gentle giant personality.

Still, there were things that he could not communicate properly- complex thoughts and ideas, even if written down on paper, were time-consuming and unable to be expressed to their full intent. It wasn’t as though he could put all of his emotion into a piece of paper.

But there was always an outlier, and that outlier came in the form of Koganei Shinji.

Being Mitobe’s best friend for who-knows-how-long, he was quick to learn the little details of his friend’s expressions, the way he acted; He was essentially Mitobe’s interpreter, and the person (outside of his family) who he was closest to.

And somewhere along the line, Mitobe had fallen for him.

\---

“Nice pass, Mitobe!”

Koganei’s voice rang through the gym- enthusiastic and happy. Mitobe smiled at him.

One more basket was scored, and shortly after, Riko blew her whistle.

“Alright boys, wrap it up! We’ve got a practice game against Kaijou tomorrow, and we have to be at top performance, so remember to sleep well tonight- that goes for you too, Kagami!”

As soon as practice had officially ended, Koganei ran to Mitobe’s side.

“Are you excited for the game tomorrow? I wonder if that Kise guy has gotten any better. What do you think?”

Mitobe placed one hand on Koganei’s shoulder and made a strange gesture with the other.

“Ah, you’re right. Confident as ever!”

As the two left to shower and get changed, Riko watched them, a small frown forming on her face. Hyuuga was at her side moments later.

“Hey, Hyuuga… you don’t suppose that Koganei knows about Mitobe’s feelings for him, do you?”

Hyuuga matched her frown.

“Probably not. Or if he does, he hasn’t said anything about it.”

“How can someone who knows Mitobe so well be so oblivious?”

\---

Izuki watched from the back of the classroom as Koganei invited Mitobe over to play videogames.

“My parents are out visiting some friends, and my sister is visiting a friend, so we’ll have the house to ourselves!”

The look of surprise visible on Mitobe’s face was priceless, and Izuki snickered lightly- which caught Mitobe’s attention. He glanced over to Izuki, and the opportunity couldn’t be wasted: He winked at Mitobe, and gave a big thumbs up.

“Eh? Mitobe, why are you so red all of a sudden?”

Mitobe turned back to Koganei and shook his head, waving him off.

“If you say so.”

_Ah, young love,_ Izuki thought to himself.

\---

Kuroko and Kagami were the last ones to notice the change, aside from Koganei himself, perhaps. If Kagami hadn’t been so good at deciphering Kuroko’s blank expressions, he might not have noticed at all.

“They’re both third-years, right? Is Mitobe just going to let Koganei graduate without letting him know how he feels?” Kagami asked Kuroko during a lull in practice. Mitobe and Koganei were currently facing off some of the first-years along with the other third-years. It was a small reminder of just how quickly time was passing.

The inter-high wasn’t far away.

“I’m not sure. He doesn’t seem like one to hesitate. Perhaps he’s waiting for a good opportunity?”

“Yeah, maybe. I just wish Kiyoshi was here to knock some sense into Koganei. It’s ridiculous how he hasn’t noticed yet.”

Kuroko hummed and watched the gym carefully. The first years, as it happened, won the practice round- there was a promising new member of the team (Kuroko had a feeling that he would be the key to winning the inter-high; as good as he and Kagami were, a fresh face added an unpredictable element.)

Koganei frowned. “I guess that shows us how much we have to keep up with the first-years.”

Without hesitation, Mitobe was there to ruffle Koganei’s hair, offering comfort. Kuroko and Kagami watched almost raptly as Koganei leaned slightly into his touch after the initial surprise.

“Let’s hope that they sort their feelings soon.”

\---

They were so close to winning the inter-high- Two games away, in fact. But their second-to-last game had faced them against Shuutoku, and Seirin wasn’t the only team who had improved with the addition of first-years. As tight as the last match was, a two-point difference had sealed their fate.

Seirin had won the winter cup the year before, so it wasn’t quite as disheartening as it could have been- there was still time to win, but the blow was still painful. But as upset as everyone was, there was no time to be depressed. Only time for training and improvement.

As they waited for the bus to carry them back to Seirin, the team watched as Koganei leaned forward, hugging Mitobe in a rare but not unexpected display of… well, something. Mitobe looked surprised, but only hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around Koganei in an embrace.

This was becoming a problem.

\---

“Mitobe, we’re holding an intervention.”

Riko didn’t even hesitate to call out Mitobe after practice had ended. Koganei hadn’t been there that day, and while Mitobe still played as best as he could, it didn’t escape notice that he looked somewhat dejected.

As the rest of Seirin’s starters huddled nearby, Mitobe looked perplexed.

“We know how you feel about Koganei,” Hyuuga started. “It’s easy to see, so don’t try to deny it.”

Mitobe turned bright red, and glanced around- not a single member looked as though they were kidding. He swallowed thickly.

“We’re not saying you have to do anything before you’re ready, but just remember that the clock is ticking,” Izuki said seriously, then added, “So don’t _tick_ us off!” with a grin.

Mitobe practically turned white, and Hyuuga thumped Izuki on the head.

“Don’t say such scary things!”

“It was a _pun!_ ”

“I think what he’s trying to say,” Kuroko interrupted, “Is that we want you to be happy.”

Mitobe frowned, and shook his head.

“You can’t tell him?” Kagami asked, earning a nod. “Why not?”

“You’re nervous?” Riko asked, and Mitobe shook his head.

“He has a girlfriend?” Izuki asked, and got another head shake.

“You don’t know how to show him how you feel?” Hyuuga asked, and Mitobe nodded miserably.

Hyuuga made a sound of sympathy, but the effect was short-lived, as Riko gave Mitobe a particularly hard slap on the back.

“Cheer up!” She said with a grin that ordered no arguments, “You’re a basketball player, not a shoujo manga character! You’ll figure something out!”

Mitobe stared at her for several seconds, still not saying anything, but his expression slowly became determined, much to everyone’s relief.

“You can do it,” Riko reassured, and Mitobe smiled as he nodded.

\---

The next day, nobody was prepared for what happened.

Koganei was back at practice (apparently he had gotten a short-lived bug and wasn’t feeling well, but had since recovered) and eager as ever to return to the court.

Things went on as normal- almost as if the conversation the previous day had never even happened. The minutes flew by, and soon enough it was time for practice to end.

Riko was prepared to make an announcement regarding the upcoming summer training, but stopped in her tracks the moment she saw Mitobe approach Koganei.

_Could this be it?_ was the general thought floating around the room.

Koganei looked at Mitobe, still smiling, still oblivious. “Oh, Mitobe, did you want something?”

Mitobe reached out to take Koganei’s hands in his own, and the anticipation was almost tangible.

“Hey, is everything o-”

_“I like you.”_

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

The voice that had rung through the gym was unfamiliar- not deep, but not high pitched; almost shaky, but determined nonetheless.

Koganei’s eyes widened, and he stuttered.

“D-did you j-just--”

Mitobe nodded, forcing himself not to look at the shocked expressions of his teammates and coach.

Endless seconds passed, each more tense than the last, until suddenly, Koganei’s lower lip started wobbling, and tears prickled at the corners of his eyes.

_“Why didn’t you let me know before, you-- you--!”_

Koganei quickly drew Mitobe into what could only be described as a bone-crushing hug, and the muffled sounds of sniffling broke the silence.

“I like you too. I thought you knew that!”

It only took moments for Mitobe to return the hug, and if it had taken place in a cheesy romantic comedy, the rest of the Seirin basketball team would have clapped and cheered. But it wasn’t, so the delayed response was-

“They really are cute as a couple!”

A groan could be heard from most of the basketball team (the now-happy couple exempt, of course) and someone quietly muttered _“Izuki, no.”_

It was a quick affair to finish going back to the locker rooms after the event, though anyone who looked at Mitobe or Koganei could see that they were absolutely glowing.

And when the two showed up to practice the next day, holding hands, well, nobody could complain.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can follow me at doomedtemperament.tumblr.com . Fic requests are still open as of writing this (July 6th, 2016)


End file.
